Unresolved Situations
by Jaspre
Summary: Harry has been de-aged and is being cared for by Albus and Minerva. However, when they need a break, Severus somehow finds himself caring for the baby. He discovers a natural talent for caring for an infant and subconsciously realizes after Harry's regained his proper age that he misses having a baby around.


Title: Unresolved Situations

Author: Jaspre

Warning: None, really.

Summary: Harry has been de-aged and is being cared for by Albus and Minerva. However, when they need a break, Severus somehow finds himself caring for the baby. He discovers a natural talent for caring for an infant and subconsciously realizes after Harry's regained his proper age that he misses having a baby around.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, never have and likely never will. Sadly. I'm just playing around with them...

A/N: Enjoy! I should mention that Severus is interested in men; I've twisted the love mentioned in JKR's books to be more of a friendly love than romantic love. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever thought he wasn't straight lol

* * *

Almost six months after Harry Potter had defeated the dark wizard Tom Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, everything at Hogwarts had gone back to relative normalcy. The school had mended herself almost immediately with only a bit of help from the surviving professors. It was now approaching the middle of November and classes had resumed the day before, to the relief of students, professors, and parents alike. The students' minds were again on homework and exams for the year. It had become an unspoken rule to not mention the horrifying battle that had taken place on the grounds. Most involved were attempting to pretend it hadn't even happened, with the help of memory modifiers to erase the more grisly aspects of the war. Many hadn't approved of this method, but it had been backed by the Minister of Magic himself. Needless to say, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs had returned to school with hopes of a great future. Slytherins, whether they were loyal to the light, the dark, or were neutral during the war, had returned with a far less argumentative demeanour than before. Fights still occasionally broke out between Slytherins and Gryffindors, but the incidents were occurring less than ever before in the history of Hogwarts.

Albus Dumbledore was in his office, contemplating having a special Christmastime dance of sorts, when multiple screams reached his ears. He strode out his door, almost ran down the stairs, and stopped at the utter chaos in front of him. In a cluster on the third floor, students of all houses were tightly surrounding a group of screaming students and cheering on one student or the other. Albus performed a wandless 'Sonorus' spell and cleared his throat.

"Step aside," he bellowed. The students parted to reveal the strangest sight he was sure he'd ever seen. Harry Potter and Theodore Nott were standing wand-to-wand and scowling at each other, both looking worse for wear, a weasel with a very telling tuft of red hair was scuttling around, Blaise Zabini was attempting to pull Theodore away, while Draco Malfoy was edging Harry away. "What is going on here?"

"He hexed Ron," Harry spat out through gritted teeth.

"He called me a bloody Death Eater, Potter," Theodore snapped back. "He deserved it."

"You _are _a Death Eater," someone from the crowd called out.

"He is not!" Draco defended.

"All of you, stand aside," Albus commanded. Blaise managed to shove Theodore away while Draco pulled Harry farther away. Harry struggled only a little. Albus raised his wand and transformed the weasel back into Ron Weasley. "How did this even start?"

"Thank Merlin," Ron groaned and rubbed his neck. Harry met Albus' eyes and pursed his lips. The three Slytherins around him looked at Ron critically. Ron sneered back.

"How did this start?" Albus demanded louder. "Mr. Weasley?"

"Me and Harry were walking down the hall and Nott purposefully ran into me."

"I tripped, Weasley."

"So you both ran into each other and you called him a Death Eater?"

"I'm not a Death Eater," Theodore denied. He lifted his sleeve and flashed it to the crowd.

"You probably just didn't have time to get marked," Ron muttered.

"Run along, children. Misters Potter, Weasley, Nott, Malfoy, and Zabini, please follow me." They made their way back to the Head office. Albus conjured chairs for everyone and motioned for them to sit. "Now, I feel we need to talk. Mr. Weasley, I wish to stress to you how serious of an accusation you made. During the war, Mr. Nott asked for sanctuary within these walls, because his parents wanted him marked. He did not want to pledge his allegiance to Tom, just as you never would have."

Ron looked down at his lap and flushed. "Sorry, sir."

"I am not the one you should apologize to," Albus replied. Ron scowled at his twisted hands.

"Sorry."

"Perhaps you could look at him when you speak?"

"Sorry, Nott, for thinking you had followed in your parents' footsteps." Theodore glared. Albus caught their attention again.

"Mr. Nott, I do not think I need to tell you transfiguring students is never allowed. Would you care to explain your decision to do so?"

"No," Theodore mumbled.

"I feel you should apologize to Mr. Weasley, as well."

"You have got to be kidding me, Headmaster!"

"I assure you, Mr. Nott, I am quite serious."

"Fine. Sorry, Weasley."

"Good enough, I suppose. Mr. Zabini, Mr. Malfoy, were either of you involved in this conflict more than separating your fellow classmates?"

"No, sir," they answered together. Albus nodded.

"H-Mr. Potter, I'm very disappointed in you."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Did you not cast any spell at another student?"

"No, I didn't."

"Very good. Did you have your wand drawn?" Harry blushed a bit and looked down.

"Erm… yeah."

"I believe you should also apologize to Mr. Nott."

"But-"

"No. It is unfair, I know, but I expect more from you. I know what you are capable of when you are angry." Harry frowned.

"I'm sorry, Nott."

"I suggest you all return to your common rooms for the evening and-" The door burst open, revealing Minerva's exasperated expression.

"Albus, I need you now."

"Is something wrong?" Albus asked, standing abruptly. "You all are dismissed.

"Just come."

As a group, they all hurried down the stairs. A group of first years were farther down the hall. One of the first years, a Hufflepuff was crying and holding her short, scorched hair. Albus sighed deeply and hurried off to reverse her backfired spell. Harry left Ron with Hermione and followed curiously.

"Ms. Aberthy, how did this happen to your hair?"

"I was trying to use a spell to lengthen my hair and I don't know what I did!"

"Oh, dear. Minerva, do you know what spell she was using?"

"Hey, I think I know how to reverse it," a fellow first year spoke up. Before the professors could ask, the boy performed a spell. He misjudged his aim, though, and missed her completely. "Oops. Sorry. I'll try again."

"No, Mr. Paine, that won't be necessary. Why don't you go take your classmates book bag to your common room while Ms. Aberthy stops at the infirmary?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. Minerva, I need to go back to my office to contact Severus. Some of his Slytherins- and your Gryffindors- got into a fight. I will tell you later. Could you take her to Poppy?"

"Of course, Albus."

He watched them go and then turned around to find Harry clutching his stomach with a pinched expression. Albus hurried to him, heart racing.

"Dear boy, what's wrong?"

"Spell… stomach." He moaned in pain and closed his eyes. "Gods…"

"Let's-" Harry shimmered and rapidly began to shrink. Before Albus could do anything, Harry was gone. Albus blinked. A tiny wail sounded from the pile of robes at his feet. "Harry?"

Stooping down, he picked up the robes and moved them around. Another tiny wail escaped as Albus uncovered a fragile-looking infant with crystal green eyes, black hair, and an unmarred forehead. Albus ran his thumb over the baby's forehead and frowned. He quickly turned on his heel and moved as fast as he could to the first floor, the infirmary in mind.

"Albus?" Poppy asked curiously. Her eyes fell on the unfamiliar baby and confusion clouded her eyes.

"I think we have a problem. Is Minerva still here?"

"Yes. She's calming down Ms. Aberthy so I can fix her head. Whose child is that?"

"I will explain in due course. I will wait in your office until you are finished. Please have Minerva stay behind."

"I will hurry," Poppy promised and hurried away. Albus waited within the mediwitch's office for only a few minutes. He walked out when he saw the small Hufflepuff hurry out of the infirmary. He met the two puzzled women at the door.

"Poppy, I need you to check this child carefully, then I will explain."

Almost ten minutes later, after running every test imaginable- plus some she'd never heard about- she looked up at Albus again. "I cannot find anything wrong with him. He appears to be a perfectly healthy two-week-old infant. Tell me, Albus, why you expected something to be wrong with this child. How did you even come about having him and where are his parents?"

"His parents are dead, Poppy."

"What? I've heard of no deaths in the past two weeks. Who were they?"

"Lily and James Potter."

"Excuse me?"

He looked at Minerva. "Harry was hit by a stray spell during Ms. Aberthy's fiasco upstairs."

"I didn't even see him!" She looked down at Harry. "Oh, how precious. He's such a little- his scar is gone."

"I had noticed. I would assume that the spell that hit him took him back to the way he really was as an infant, rather than just reverting him to a smaller age from his current body."

Poppy blinked. "You mean this is how he looked at two weeks old?"

"If I recall correctly, yes," Albus spoke gently, smiling at the sleeping baby and tracing his cheekbones with an index finger. Minerva frowned.

"What are we going to do, Albus? Have you any way to reverse the spell?"

"I first have to discover which spell was used. Until then, we will have to care for him ourselves."

"Oh, dear," Poppy fretted. "This isn't good. What if you can't reverse it? Will he have to age naturally back to seventeen?"

"I am confident we will find a way to prevent that. His life was hard enough the first time around."

Poppy looked concernedly at the baby in Albus' arms. "I hope you're right."

"And what will do about the other students until then? Will you be telling them of his condition?"

"I believe Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley should be told. They will know who to trust with this information."

"And the others?" Minerva pressed.

"Mr. Potter has taken some time off to recover from the hardships of the war, I should think. It was not easy for someone so pure-minded to defeat such a dark wizard."

"You always paint such a pretty picture with your words," Minerva scolded lightly. Her slight smirk gave her away, though.

Albus smiled.

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Albus, you're doing it all wrong again," Minerva criticized.

"Would you care to show me how to change this blasted thing, then?" Albus grumbled uncharacteristically. Minerva chuckled and gently pushed Albus away from the changing table. She reapplied baby powder, pinned Harry's nappy, and redressed him.

"Did you pay attention?"

"Of course I did, Minerva. How did you learn to do that?"

"I have two younger brothers, Albus. It's something you quickly learn to do." Minerva picked little Harry up and cradled him to her chest. He grabbed her collar in a chubby fist, cradled his head into her neck, and fell back to sleep. "They're so precious at this age."

"I agree." Albus sighed. "Whose night is it to do research?"

"Yours," Minerva replied slowly. "However, I can't take him, either. I have a meeting with my prefects and Head Boy and Girl tonight."

"I had forgotten about that. Perhaps we could ask Rubeus? You know he'd love to help."

"Albus, I love Rubeus just as much as you, but he does not know his own strength. If he were to hurt Harry, I would be devastated."

"True enough. Filius?"

"All heads have meetings tonight. It's December 1st, remember?"

"Then I suppose that leaves Severus out, too?"

"You're joking, right?" Minerva asked slowly.

"Yes, I am. I shudder to think of how Severus would react to caring for an infant. Don't get me wrong. I love Severus as much as I would my own child, but the man is a little…"

"Cold?"

"Minerva," Albus admonished. A corner of her mouth quirked in amusement, but it was quickly replaced by concern.

"You look tired," Minerva noted.

"I'm not getting much sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night, thinking Harry's fallen off the bed or out his crib."

Minerva's expression softened. "I could keep him tonight, Albus, so you can get some sleep."

"We first must find someone to watch him, though, Minerva."

"I notice you didn't accept my offer. Are you growing attached already to the little one?"

Albus smiled. "As much as you are, I daresay, my dear."

"Yes, I think so, too." She looked down at the peaceful, innocent expression on Harry's face and sighed wistfully. "He's such a lovely, little thing, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is." Albus moved closer and rubbed Harry's cheek with the back of his fingers. He froze. "Poppy."

"Poppy?"

"She could care for him while I research and you have your meetings."

"Brilliant idea, Albus," Minerva announced brightly. She gave him a pleased smile.

"Thank you. I'll floo call her right now."

"I'll make sure Harry doesn't wander away."

Albus snorted and moved from his bedchamber to his outer office. Kneeling in front of his fire, Albus waited for Poppy to appear.

"Is something the matter?" she asked worriedly.

"No, dear. I was just wondering if you might watch Harry tonight. I'm still trying to figure out what spell was used-"

"Yes, I will, Albus," Poppy interrupted, looking delighted.

"Thank you. We both appreciate it."

"We?"

"Minerva and I have shared his care."

Poppy let a knowing smile grace her lips. "Naturally."

"Poppy," Albus spoke, his cheeks slightly pink. "I shall deliver him after the evening meal. Will that be acceptable?"

"More than. If you need me to take him sooner…"

Albus' eyes twinkled. "I think we can handle him until then."

"Of course. Well, _you two _enjoy the baby."

"Thank you again, Poppy."

Poppy nodded and the fire returned back to normal. Albus stood and moved away just as his office door opened with a muffled thud. Some cursing drew his attention to Severus' presence.

"-damned door."

"Severus, is there a reason you are trying to destroy my door?"

"I was not trying to destroy. It… got in my way."

Albus lifted a brow. "Did you not think to turn the handle?"

"Don't be smart, Albus. Your damn steps tripped me up."

"I see. So my door prevented you from falling?"

Severus lifted his chin. "I do not know what you're talking about."

"Of course not." Albus cleared his throat and waved to a plush armchair. When they were seated and sipping some tea, he continued. "Is there a reason for your visit? I've noticed you've avoided our tea times the past two weeks."

"I have not been avoiding them. Poppy's had me brewing potions for the infirmary. Strange ones, I might add. Do we have an expectant student in the school or perhaps a newly birthed child?"

"Is that the reason you came to see me?"

"Why else would I come up during my free period?"

Albus held up his cup. "For tea."

"Yes, well, that's not the point."

"And the point is?"

"Am I to take your evasion of my questions as a confirmation for a child in the school?"

"You are really worried about this, aren't you?"

"Albus." Severus stared and Albus sighed deeply.

"Minerva, could you both come here, please?" Minerva entered the room, rocking an awake and very drowsy little baby in her arms. She froze when she saw Severus. "There is your confirmation, Severus. There is indeed a small child in the school."

"That is not a child, Albus. That looks to be an infant."

"Yes, he is," Minerva snapped. "Keep your voice down. I'm trying to get him back to sleep. He woke up when you left the room, Albus."

Albus smiled and walked over to the little thing. He grinned down at the baby, took him from Minerva's tired arms, and moved back to his chair. He met Severus' incredulous eyes.

"Whose child is that, Albus?" he asked slowly. Minerva saw his surreptitious glances and laughed.

"It's not ours, Severus. Magic can do many things, but it cannot make an old woman fertile again."

Severus' eye twitched. However, he lifted his chin and met her stare.

"If it can make a man able to carry children, it should be able to do anything, don't you think?"

"Severus," Albus spoke up. "This is not our child. Minerva has black hair and I had auburn hair as a young man. She-"

"It has black hair, too."

"_He_," Minerva corrected. Albus narrowed his eyes mischievously.

"Would you like to hold him?"

"No." Albus paid him no mind. He set Harry in his arms and stayed close until he was sure Severus wouldn't drop him. "I told you I did not want to hold your child."

"He's not our child. If he had been, wouldn't you have seen the pregnancy? He's only four weeks old."

"I do not spend much time looking at you, Minerva. I wouldn't have known."

"I don't know if I should be grateful or offended, Severus."

"Both," Severus responded coolly. He looked down at the unfamiliar face and furrowed his brows. "This isn't your child."

"No, it's not."

"How did you come by having a four week old infant?"

"I found him," Albus spoke honestly. He met the other man's shocked eyes and laughed at the absurdity of the statement. "I apologize, Severus. That came out wrong."

"I should hope so," Severus grumbled. Harry started wiggling around in his arms and Severus looked down again. "His eyes are familiar."

"I thought you might say that."

Severus cursorily inspected the baby. Black hair, familiar green eyes, chubby cheeks, ten fingers, ten toes… not that it mattered, of course… tiny body frame. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and traced the contours of his face and forehead. No scar marred his forehead, though. The baby gave him a gummy almost-smile and tried grabbing his hair. Severus pulled his head back away from the tiny questing hand.

"I truly have no idea who parented this child."

"Actually, Severus, you do."

"I beg to differ."

"Minerva, you may do the honours."

"You want me to tell him? Is that really wise with him still holding-"

"He won't drop him."

Severus cocked a brow at Minerva and waited. She huffed and eyed Harry carefully, watching for any mistakes on Severus' part.

"The infant you are holding right now is a Potter." He slightly tensed and looked down at Harry again. Minerva moved closer.

"That would explain Mr. Potter's absence these past two weeks."

"It would," Albus allowed. Severus stared at Harry, searching for any familiar features. He saw Harry's nose and eyes…

"So where is Potter if you are caring for his child?"

Albus looked startled. "Excuse me?"

"Severus, are you quite all right?"

"Yes?" he answered slowly, looking at Albus and Minerva as if _they _were the ones whose sanity he questioned.

"He's dead. He has been for a while."

Severus' face blanked as he pulled a mask over his features. "He's dead? Does no one else know?"

"Severus?" Albus asked. He stood and tried to pull Harry away. "I think you need to go to the infirmary. Give me the child."

Severus unconsciously pulled Harry closer to his chest. "I am just fine. What is wrong with you two?"

"What is wrong with you?" Minerva countered. "Have you had your memory altered?"

"Obviously not." Albus and Minerva stared at him a moment and then exchanged a look. Severus growled. "What?"

"Severus," Albus said slowly. He furrowed his brows. "When did James Potter die?"

"31 October 1981." The two other professors looked even more confused. "_What_?"

"Severus," Albus repeated. His face suddenly relaxed and Severus scowled. "I think we've had a misunderstanding. That child you are holding is James Potter's child. It's Harry."

Severus looked horrified and met the wide green eyes gazing at him. "This is Potter?"

"Yes. I can see how you were mistaken."

"He's a baby," Severus pointed out stupidly.

"We're trying to fix that."

"This child is Harry Potter?" Severus checked, holding Harry up a bit. Albus nodded. "Why is he an infant again?"

"A stray spell from a helpful but unstudied first year hit him two weeks ago." Severus glanced down at Harry yet again. He pushed Harry's hair away from his forehead. "His body became that of his own two week old self. He did not have his scar then."

"I see." Severus nodded while he spoke and didn't even notice when Harry grabbed his index finger and began sucking gently. "And now you two are caring for him while trying to research the correct counter-spell?"

"Yes, we are."

"Ah."

"Oh, it would appear that Harry's hungry." Severus followed Minerva's gaze and grimaced when he saw his finger in Harry's mouth. He promptly withdrew it and wiped the spit onto his coat. Harry let out a tiny, wavering cry at the sudden absence of Severus' finger. Severus held him up to his face and cleared his throat.

"Cease and desist that racket, Potter. My finger is not a teat." Harry immediately shut his mouth and blinked watery eyes at Severus. He reached out, placed his tiny hands on Severus' cheeks, and let out what sounded like a giggle when Severus frowned at him. "Stop it."

"Severus…" He looked over Harry's head, met Albus' eyes, and glared.

"Do not even think about it, old man."

* * *

Severus sat down in his leather armchair and glared at the fire in front of him. In his arms, Harry whimpered quietly and curled his legs up to his chest. Frowning, Severus pulled the baby closer to his warm chest and covered him with the blanket Minerva had packed. He'd forgotten how cold the dungeons were. They must feel arctic for such a small human. Harry's little cries died off as he warmed up.

Shaking his head, he glanced up at the clock. Another hour before Harry's next feeding… His eyes drifted from the clock to his house alert dial. Everything seemed to be fine.

"I think I can squeeze in a short nap," Severus muttered to himself.

He repositioned Harry until he had the baby's little head tucked under his chin, wrapped the blanket around the baby like a cocoon, and leaned back further in the armchair. His arms automatically wrapped around and under the delicate body on his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

He woke a little under an hour later and gently woke Harry up. He grabbed the bottle he'd prepared earlier and warmed the milk to a perfect temperature with a flick of his wrist. He then propped Harry up in the crook of his arm and teased the nipple along Harry's lips until he latched on contentedly. Severus watched him carefully while he suckled to make sure he didn't choke.

Five minutes later, Draco Malfoy opened Severus' door and stopped at the sight of his Head of House feeding a bottle to the tiny baby held close to his chest.

"Professor?" Severus looked up and narrowed his eyes.

"Why did you not knock?"

"I did. When you didn't answer, I thought something might have happened to you and I got worried," Draco replied, eyes still on the baby. All he could see was black hair and pale white skin. "Is that… your baby?"

"My baby?" Severus repeated blankly. He looked down at Harry and rolled his eyes. "Was there something you needed, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I… forgot what I came here for."

"Then perhaps you should run along, hmm? As you can see, I'm quite busy." Severus felt the bottle slip from Harry's mouth. Again, his eyes strayed to the infant. "Oh, no, you don't. Wake up, young man. I will not have you being disgruntled, because you fell asleep without your burping."

He gingerly positioned Harry over the burp cloth on his shoulder and started patting his back with exaggerated care. Minerva had warned him- on pain of torture or death- to be exceedingly gentle with the tiny thing. After a few pats, Harry burped up some milk onto the burp cloth. Severus glared at his wet shoulder, moved Harry away from the cloth, and wiped the rest of the milk from his mouth. When he looked up, after situating Harry back onto the centre of his chest, Draco was standing there with raised brows and a slightly gaping mouth.

"Sir?"

"I thought I told you to leave."

"You did, but I remembered what I had to talk to you about."

Severus sighed and conjured another chair. Harry sniffled and tussled around until, with a lot of Severus' help, he'd curled into a little ball. Severus fought back the smile trying to cross his lips and held his hands under Harry's bottom.

"Very well. Sit down."

"I, uh, wanted to… Sir, it's really bothering me. Is that your child?"

"This infant is none of your concern. What is it you needed to speak with me about?" Severus asked quietly, mindful of the sleeping baby. Draco looked down a long moment.

"My mother's left my father." Severus remained silent and stared. "She threatened to divorce him. She sent me an owl this morning saying if she files the paperwork, I will need to sign a few spots since there's an adult child from the marriage."

"Draco," Severus spoke tenderly. "How do you feel about this?"

"I… don't know what to think."

"That's understandable."

Draco nodded. "She assured me it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but think it is."

Severus' face became stern. "This is not your fault. Your father and mother have had problems with their marriage for many long years. They started long before you were ever born."

"But it culminated when the Dark Lord wanted me to kill Dumbledore."

"Which you did not do, remember? You defied his orders and sought sanctuary here, along withTheodore and Blaise. This is in no way your fault."

"But if he hadn't-"

"Your mother left your father for different reasons, Draco. You needn't worry about them being your fault."

Draco's eyes flashed. He sneered. "Is she leaving him for _you_?"

"Excuse me?" Severus asked in a dangerous whisper. He held Harry's back firmly and leaned forward in his chair.

"Is she leaving my father for you?"

"If that were the case, it would be an extraordinarily imbecilic decision on her part."

"Why?" Draco demanded loudly. Harry whimpered a little at being woke up and wiped his face across the front of Severus' black robe. Severus rubbed his back in a calming manner and glared at Draco pointedly.

"I understand you're upset, but I suggest you watch your tone when speaking with me. And lower your voice."

"Is she not good enough for you, sir? You've had her and now you're done?" Draco asked in a quieter tone.

"Twenty points from Slytherin for your impertinence. Do you even realize how pathetic you sound right now?"

"Because I struck on the truth?"

"Because I'm only interested in men," Severus replied coldly. He leaned back in his chair again and continued rubbing the baby's back. Draco finally blinked away his shock.

"What?"

"Check your facts before you accuse someone of something you know nothing of."

Draco sagged, looking miserable again and contrite. "You're gay?"

"I do believe that is what I just said."

"So that baby _is _yours? How old is it? When did you have it?" Draco looked away from Harry.

"Do you honestly think me submissive?" Severus asked slowly, one brow cocked. Draco blushed fiery crimson and looked away. "As for your other question, _he _is just four weeks old."

"Four… he's a month old? What does it… he look like?"

"A baby. Are we done here?"

"What's his name?"

"You may go," Severus commanded not-so-subtly. He gestured to the door with a minute nod of his head. After a few seconds of staring incredulously, Draco moved to the door slowly. After critiquing which parts of the previous conversation he wanted Draco to not mention to anyone, Severus cast a Notice Me Not over Harry's slumbering body and cleared his throat. Draco looked back and frowned.

"Hey, what did you do with-" Severus smirked menacingly and raised his wand. Draco's hands came up in fear.

"Obliviate."

"Yes?" Draco asked a few seconds later, looking impatient.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy. I merely had something in my throat. You may go."

"Oh. Thanks for talking to me about my mother."

"Of course."

* * *

Albus entered the room and abruptly stopped walking. Severus was fast asleep in his armchair with his head tipped back and his arms wrapped gently around a sleeping Harry, who was curled into a foetal position on his chest. He smiled and wordlessly transported Severus to his bedroom. Albus transfigured Severus and Harry's clothing into their respective bedclothes, spelled the bed so that Harry wouldn't fall out or get crushed during the night, and set an alarm for the next morning to allow Severus to wake on time. After checking that Harry's nappy was dry, he quietly backed out of the room and smiled.

Severus seemed like he knew what he was doing and Albus did admit he needed a full night's sleep. He'd come for Harry in the morning.

* * *

Severus woke the next morning and tensed. He was in his bed. His eyes widened as he realized he also had a baby on his chest. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the previous day's events came back to him. He automatically clutched the sleeping infant closer and frowned.

"When was the last time you were fed?"

He scooted Harry into the centre of the bed so he could prepare for the day and dress in his usual robes. He finished quickly and, after a second of thought, retrieved the baby bag from his living room. He almost ran back to the bedroom, bag in hand, when he thought about the fact that he shouldn't have left a baby unattended on his bed. He heaved a deep sigh of relief when he saw Harry hadn't moved. Opening the bag on the foot of the bed, he began pulling out seemingly random items. Thanks to watching Narcissa care for Draco when he was younger, he knew exactly what every item in the bag was for. He resized the baby bath and bathed Harry with a minimal amount of fuss. He scowled when he saw the nappy choice Minerva had packed.

By the time he had Harry's clothing firmly in place, he had baby powder on his black robes, bath water on his shoes, and a few pricks to his fingers from the pins he used on the cloth nappies.

"She did that on purpose," he told Harry. "I know there are easier nappies to use out there. She could have picked some up from Hogsmeade. I've seen a store there that sells nothing but baby items."

Harry gurgled happily at the attention Severus was giving him. Severus wordlessly cast a few cleaning and drying spells on himself, repacked the baby bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed Harry, moved out into his living room, and settled himself into his favourite armchair so he could feed Harry with the magically refilled bottle.

Twenty minutes later, he looked at the clock, cleaned more milk from his shoulder, and left his rooms. Neither Albus nor Minerva had come for Harry yet, but if he didn't leave soon, he'd miss the beginning of breakfast. That never boded well for him, especially since he sat next to Rubeus Hagrid this year.

"Here we go," Severus muttered quietly to himself and pushed open the staff door to the Great Hall. He settled into his seat, glared at Albus and Minerva's amused smiles, held Harry with one hand, and began feeding himself with the other. After approximately ten seconds, he noticed the hall had fallen completely silent. He glanced up into the sea of shocked faces.

"Cute tike ya got there," Hagrid spoke warmly. "He's got yer hair and skin. Thank the gods he doesn't have yer nose."

Severus shot another glare at the positively gleeful giggling coming from Minerva. Albus' eyes were twinkling and his lips were twitching violently.

"Oh, Severus," Pomona trilled. "He's a right angel."

"Really, Severus. I never pictured you for a father."

"You better have never pictured me as a mother, Septima," Severus replied before taking a bite of toast. She snickered.

"I think I know you better than that, Severus."

"I'm glad."

Harry clenched a lock of his hair in a tiny fist, causing Severus to choke on his food in shock. He disengaged Harry's fingers from his hair and had another bite of food halfway to his mouth when Harry grabbed on to the same lock as before. He sighed, shrugged, and continued eating.

"What a cute, little guy," Filius cooed at Harry.

"He is, isn't he? Severus, you are quite blessed," Albus spoke, his eyes twinkling wildly now.

"Absolutely, Albus," Minerva agreed. Severus ignored the both of them.

"You said his name was Tobias, after your middle name, correct?" Albus continued. Severus narrowed his eyes and then nodded curtly. He'd go along with that story, if that is what Albus wanted, but he owed him so much now.

"I prefer to call him Toby when we are alone," Severus dryly deadpanned.

"Of course you would," Septima said calmly. She leaned closer to Severus and looked at Harry. "He is quite an attractive, little thing. I'm surprised."

"Thank you for that glowing comment, you hag."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"I would think they would be for giving better compliments than that."

"Sev'rus," Hagrid spoke again. "How old is yer baby?"

"Four weeks as of yesterday."

There was a round of squeaks from the females at the table, including a discreet 'aww' from Septima.

"You're so young," Filius baby-talked at Harry. Severus rolled his eyes and concentrated on his breakfast. However, before too much longer, he felt eyes on him. He immediately focussed on the source, a Slytherin of his. Draco cocked a brow at him when he realized he had his attention. Severus lifted his chin and continued eating.

"Might I hold the wee babe?" Minerva asked sweetly. Severus scowled.

"No, you may not." Her brows came up in shock. Some of the other professors looked at him like he was insane and Severus plastered the most believably contrite expression he could manage on his face. "I'm hesitant to let him go. I'm sure you can understand."

"Ah, yes. New parents are usually that way," Pomona agreed with a wink aimed at Severus. Minerva grumbled to herself.

"Yes, well…" To distract himself from that disturbing thought, he cleared his throat and ate some more eggs. Harry tugged weakly on his hair. Moving his head and eyes enough to see Harry without pulling his own hair, Severus noted he was going to sleep.

"How sweet," Septima commented from his left. He sent a half-smirk her way, the closest he got to a smile in public. "I would say he likes your hair."

"Looks to be so." She leaned closer and dropped her voice.

"I know he's not your son, Severus." Stunned, he met her eyes casually. She lifted her brows slightly and smirked. "Which student is it?"

"What makes you think he isn't my son, Septima?" he whispered, looking around them for eavesdroppers.

"Your eyes are black and his are vibrant green. I caught a peek of them earlier," she whispered back. "Were he to be your son, he would- in a male to male partnering- take after the dominant male's, the fathering male's, genes."

"You are entirely too smart for your own good, witch." Despite the rude term, he was smiling at her. She inclined her head.

"May I ask who that adorable creature once was?"

"Do these eyes remind you of someone?" Severus hinted. He didn't want to say the name in case someone was listening or watching. Septima ran a burgundy-painted nail across her chin in thought and chuckled after a moment.

"Severus, do you remember the conversation we had in the Astronomy Tower at the start of term?"

"You are correct," was all Severus said. Septima laughed in disbelief.

"It hardly seems fair this way, don't you think?" she muttered, hand over her mouth.

"Mhmm." Finally, Harry's hand fell away from his hair. Severus adjusted his tiny body more to the centre of his chest and pushed away his half-empty plate. "Falls asleep to my voice."

"You would make a good father," Septima noted quietly.

"I'm glad you think so."

"I'm not the only one who thinks so. Look around you. I'm afraid, though, that your reputation might be shot to hell. Most of the female occupants of this room are staring at you with hearts in their eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"Not many know your inclination, do they?"

"It's not necessary for many to know."

"Then you might have a very trying day ahead of you."

"Can't wait." Harry hiccupped in his sleep and curled into the foetal position once again. Severus rubbed his back and braced a hand under his bottom. He pulled Harry's blanket closer around him when he shivered. Septima smiled again.

"You're a natural."

"I'm as surprised as you."

"I doubt it."

"Witch."

"Snake." Severus smirked again.

"Thank you."

* * *

"If you had just given him to me when I asked, this wouldn't be happening."

"You expect me to take a four week old infant into my Potions classroom, Minerva? You're aware Longbottom has a class with me today, aren't you, Albus? I'll be lucky if _I _manage to survive."

"Come, Severus, I know you place a shield around yourself in every class. He'll be safer with you than myself."

"And Albus, what of you?"

"I have meetings with the Ministry."

"That are more dangerous than a seventh year Potions class with Neville Longbottom, who is incidentally the worst student I've ever seen?"

"Do not look at me like that, Severus. I had nothing to do with his exam scores."

"They were changed. I know they were. There is no way he got into my class on his own merit."

"You're taking him, Severus. Quit trying to change the subject."

"No, I am not."

* * *

"Settle down," Severus commanded irritably. A girl in the front row raised her hand, her eyes avidly watching him. "What?"

"Sir, is that your baby?"

"Shut up. Now, you're going to be working on- what is it, Ms. Parkinson?"

"What's his name, sir?"

"Tobias," he responded immediately. "The- Mr. Malfoy."

"How old is he?"

"Four weeks as of yesterday." Some of the girls let out some squeaks. "Like I was-"

"Sir, where's his mother?" Lavender interrupted in a dreamy voice, giving Severus a look that made him uncomfortable.

"Dead," he replied icily. "You will be working on-"

"Did you love her?" Blaise asked confusedly while looking back and forth from him to Draco.

"Once upon a time. Now, if anyone else asks about the little one-" There were many loud squeals, oohs, and awws around the room this time. Severus glared fiercely. "I will give detentions."

* * *

Severus smirked triumphantly at the stony silence in his classroom. After only one class, the class with the laughably flirtatious Lavender Brown, his reputation had been rebuilt… nay, improved by many, many marks. Slytherin had lost 90 points and garnered nine detentions with Hagrid that night while Gryffindor had lost 130 points and garnered fifteen detentions with Filch. Nothing could kill his mood right now.

Except… dear sweet Merlin, what was he smelling?

Realization crashed upon him like the terrifying news of an approaching apocalypse. Harry cooed at him contentedly, causing a few girls to look at the baby adoringly. He sent them his fiercest glare and stood.

"I will return momentarily. Any student not working when I return will suffer the consequences."

He bustled into his office, transfigured his desk into a changing station, and set about changing Harry's dirty nappy as quickly as humanly possible. He felt like gagging when he unveiled the contents, but years of being a spy allowed him to cover his immediate reaction with a stoic expression.

"When you are of age again, I sincerely hope you remember this, because you owe me, as well, Potter."

Harry giggled happily and slowly moved his legs back and forth, testing out his weak muscles. Severus pinned his nappy, pulled his clothes out again, and frowned.

"You missed your nine o'clock feeding."

As if Harry knew what he had said, he began whimpering. His eyes filled up quickly with unshed tears.

"Keep calm, Potter. I'll feed you…" He sighed. "You won't wait another hour, will you?"

Harry finally let loose a torrent of tears; those tiny, wavering cries felt like a knife to Severus' heart. Severus decided then and there if he ever had children that cried like that, he would become the biggest pushover ever in recorded history. He pulled out Harry's bottle, a burp cloth, and a dummy and moved back into his classroom. Seemingly without looking up, he spoke while settling Harry into the crook of his arm.

"Forty points from Hufflepuff, sixty from Ravenclaw. Detentions for those talking. You know who you are. If you do not appear at 8 o'clock for your detentions tonight with Filch, you will earn two more… to be served with me."

He teased Harry's mouth with the nipple until he latched on hungrily and sucked with all his might. Severus fought hard to keep from smiling at the adorable image. All too quickly, Harry finished and blinked drowsily up at him. Sighing patiently, Severus rearranged him, gently patted his back, and barely winced at the feeling of warm milk seeping into his robes. He wiped Harry's mouth off with the cloth, gave him his dummy, and brought his little legs up. Might as well get him into the foetal position now instead of waiting until he was half-asleep to help. He covered Harry up with his warm blanket (now a deep green colour rather than the bright red it was before) and glared at his hands.

"Another eighty points from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

There was a round of groans throughout the room from those students who had somehow been caught. Severus smirked.

Today was a good day.

* * *

"Are we no closer to finding a counter-spell than we were at the beginning?"

Albus scrubbed his eyes and looked at Minerva. "No. I've isolated two spells that could have been used to de-age him, but as of yet, neither have a counter-spell."

"What does that mean, Albus?"

"I have no idea. I need to see if Severus will watch Harry a little longer. You and I need to take a trip."

Minerva looked at the clock and sighed. "It's almost nine-thirty at night."

"I'm aware of that. We would be leaving early tomorrow morning. I dare not take a trip feeling as tired as I am."

"I'll go speak with him."

* * *

Minerva entered Severus' rooms and warily looked around the quiet livingroom. She quickly realized the livingroom, bathroom, kitchen, study, and small lab were all empty. Moving hesitantly to the bedroom, she pushed open the doorway and pressed a hand to her mouth to keep her gasp quiet. She surveyed the scene with adoring eyes.

Severus was sleeping on his back and had Harry's little body curled up on his chest, his arms wrapped around him protectively. At some point, he had wrapped a larger blanket around Harry's small frame twice, making him look more like a little ball than anything else. Both of Harry's chubby fists were holding tightly to locks of Severus' hair while his feet were tucked underneath him. His tiny little bottom rose up in the air with every deep breath Severus took.

Minerva smiled at the sweet picture the two made and moved forward to cover them both up. Albus had described a similar scene he'd come across last night, but it was much better to actually see it oneself. Tiptoeing out of the room, she penned a quick note to Severus and added a postscript at the bottom telling him he could take Harry to Poppy if Severus wished.

* * *

Without really opening his eyes at three o'clock in the morning, Severus stumbled out into his livingroom with Harry clutched to his chest and settled into his armchair. He'd forgotten to place more than one pre-mixed bottles in his room for the nightly feedings, but wasn't really think about that.

He was still partially asleep.

When Harry was finished, Severus burped him, brushed the milk from his shoulder, and took the both of them- and another full bottle- back to bed. He reset the alarm that would go off if something was wrong with Harry, covered them up with thick blankets to ward off the December chill in the dungeons, and fell back asleep to the sounds of Harry's even breathing.

* * *

Severus woke up to the sounds of an alarm going off in the room. His eyes shot open in a panic until he realized it was his alarm to wake up and not his baby alarm. He blindly grabbed for the bottle from his nightstand, scooted up on the bed, and fed the snuffling infant grasping at his white shirt. A sour smell wafted over from his shoulder and he realized with no surprise that he'd burped Harry last night without a cloth and hadn't even bothered to clean it up afterwards.

"I will never be able to look at you like an adult after this," he informed the alert baby. Harry continued sucking down his milk and blinked. "Yeah, you look like you care."

Harry giggled shakily while Severus finished dressing him in a warm outfit. Severus found himself smiling at the unsteady baby laugh.

"I'm aware this must be amusing to a five week old, but you can stop giggling at any time. I don't find it amusing."

Harry giggled again and tried kicking his feet. Severus snorted and expertly pulled the miniature-sized black pants on. A knock at his door stopped him from speaking to the baby again.

"Hold on," he snapped at the visitor. He hurriedly but carefully buttoned a thick, red sweater on Harry, scooped him up, and walked to his outer door. He whipped it open and instantly started glaring. "This had better be worth my time. You disappear without much of an explanation and I don't see you until the Saturday morning a week after you leave?"

"My, Severus," Albus spoke amiably. "You seem upset. Were you asleep?"

"I would have been if this brat hadn't woke me up."

"I'm sure," Minerva muttered.

"Might we come in?"

"Since you're already here…" He waved them in. "Care to explain the purpose of your visit?"

"Can I hold him?" Minerva asked immediately.

"He's not my child. Take him."

Minerva happily bounced Harry on her lap while Albus began to explain.

"In the week that we've been gone-"

"And I was forced to act as Headmaster, because the true Headmaster and his Deputy Headmistress decided to leave without warning. That week?"

"Yes, Severus. In the past week, we were able to track down a disused de-aging spell and decided it was the spell cast on Harry. How Mr. Paine stumbled upon this particular spell and thought it would help Ms. Aberthy's hair situation, we don't know."

"Is there a counter-spell?" Severus asked interestedly, eyeing Minerva to make sure she was handling Harry correctly.

"There wasn't," Albus replied. "However, we created one. It took more work than we realized at first. Nevertheless, it was added to the spells registry at the Ministry this very morning. Soon enough, it will be legally available for use and then Harry will be back to normal."

"Well, normal for him," he mumbled distractedly. "In the meantime, Minerva, quit bouncing him. He's had enough. He just ate. I don't want him to get sick."

"So early?"

"I've been trying to feed him about every two to three hours. We sometimes delay a feeding, though, so the times are off a bit."

"Oh. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I would not have been distracted by Albus' explanation if someone had sent me an owl instead of just showing up at my rooms at seven o'clock in the morning."

"Severus, do you smell soured milk?" Albus asked out of the blue. Severus pulled his house robe tighter, hiding his sleeping pants and shirt.

"He had a feeding at four o'clock this morning- I slept through the alarm. Anyway, I forgot the burping cloth."

"And you didn't change?"

"What's the point? I fed him at midnight and at two o'clock and forgot the cloth both times, then, too."

"And you didn't change?"

"I've established-" Severus began in a loud, exasperated voice. Harry started crying and squirming at the noise. "God d- Minerva, give him to me."

He pulled Harry from her, rubbed his belly until his heart-rending cries subsided some, and then laid him against his chest to better rub his back. Poppy had confirmed days ago that babies liked listening to heartbeats, which explained a lot. Harry hiccupped and snuggled into Severus' neck.

"I do think, my dear, that Severus is going to miss the baby version of Harry." Severus scoffed.

"Far from it, Albus," he replied coldly. The older man looked at him quizzically. "Do you realize how many times a day a child this small has a dirty nappy? I will not miss that, I assure you."

Albus and Minerva laughed.

* * *

Severus realized he was taking his time, but he didn't care. As soon as he was done in here, Albus and Minerva would be leaving with Harry so they could turn him back to his proper age. They told him he should change him before they left. He wouldn't like being seventeen again with a dirty… pair of pants. They also told him to say whatever goodbyes he wanted.

He didn't need to say goodbye. It wasn't like he'd grown attached to the baby or anything.

Seeming to understand that this was the last time Severus would do this, Harry just stared at him while being buttoned into a green, long-sleeved bodysuit, having his black pants and shoes pulled on, and being zipped into a matching green jacket. At least he would be warm enough until he changed back.

That was important, right?

He picked Harry up and held him to his chest carefully as he moved to the door. Harry grabbed a lock of his hair, as he had done many times before, and curled himself into Severus' chest. He stopped a metre from the door, smiled at the baby, tucked his head into the warm skin at his neck, and rubbed his back in a final farewell.

"You about done in there, Severus?" Minerva called impatiently. Severus sighed deeply, swallowed thickly, and blinked curiously. He quietly cleared his throat and pulled in another deep breath.

"Yeah, almost."

"Well, hurry up. Some of us haven't had any sleep."

Severus just hugged Harry's tiny body closer and swallowed again.

* * *

A month later…

Severus returned to his private rooms and locked the door. It was the Thursday after classes had resumed after the Christmas break and he felt he deserved a good, stiff drink. For the most part, his students had been well-behaved since their return. No one had asked after 'Baby Tobias' since the day Harry Potter had been returned to his proper age, perhaps because news of his reaction to the question had spread like wildfire. Lavender Brown still couldn't look at him without fear in her eyes and he felt he deserved to celebrate.

Oh, and it was his birthday.

He snorted quietly and added another finger of Firewhiskey to his glass. Stretching out in his favourite armchair and kicking off his shoes, his eyes leisurely travelled to the pair of tiny black shoes sitting on his mantle. He rubbed his tired eyes, downed his drink, and decided it was time for him to go to bed. He'd been sitting there almost half an hour and that evening's staff meeting had lasted longer than he thought it would; indeed, it was approaching ten o'clock now. Albus really should find a more appropriate time for staff meetings. Seven o'clock at night just wasn't working out all that well.

In his bathroom, he stripped out of his clothes, put them in the laundry hamper, and heard the tell-tale whoosh of the house elf chute kicking on. He trudged to his shower and spent a long time washing his hair and massaging soap into his tired muscles.

"I really should take a sleeping potion tonight," he whispered to the water spray.

For some reason, he hadn't been sleeping well as of late. Shrugging off the thought, he climbed out, towelled off, and added the thick, damp towels to the chute. It whooshed again while he set about cleaning his teeth, combing his hair, and fervently ignoring the green plastic dummy sitting on his bathroom counter. Why it was still there, he didn't know. He'd eventually get rid of it and the rest of the baby things when he had a chance to clean out his rooms. A good time to do that would be the Easter holiday.

Then, of course, there was also the opportunity to do it at the end of the year.

"I'll do it, then. No reason to rush myself over Easter."

Severus set his alarm to wake him up at six the morning and double checked that it would go off. He felt like he was forgetting something as he spread out across his bed, tipped his head back, and slid his hands underneath his head. After attempting to fall asleep for close to an hour, he gave up and swallowed the rest of a vial of sleeping potion. He settled back down, crossed his hands over his sternum, and fell asleep. In his sleep, only one sentence drifted from his mouth.

"You forgot to set the alarm."

The End.

* * *

I feel horrible leaving Severus so distraught over the loss of "his little Tobias" and I know it was mean of me, but I felt like it was an appropriate ending for this story. It shows Severus is human, that he does indeed want a child of his own and when he's given the chance to have one and the baby's forcibly taken away from him, he goes through the sadness everyone else would have.

Also, if you did not understand the last line, I'll remind you that while Harry had been in Severus' care, Severus had set two alarms every night- the one to wake him up at a certain time and the one that would wake him up if something happened to the baby. You'll note he set his alarm for the next morning, but… It brings a lump to my throat, honestly.

Oh, sad, sad day for Severus. And me. And, well, hopefully you, too…. Which is a strange hope for a writer to have, I'm sure. Yes, I care not. I still hope.


End file.
